


The New Kid

by Sami_Foxy_88



Category: Milo Murphy's Law
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-11 22:24:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10475766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sami_Foxy_88/pseuds/Sami_Foxy_88
Summary: A Milo x Zack fic that I’m working on. The chapters are based on Milo's thoughts during the events of the episodes.Especially his thoughts on Zack.





	1. Going The Extra Milo!

With a bounce in his step, Milo arrived home, deep in thought about his eventful day.  

 

“How was your day at school?” His mother asked, curiously.

 

“Hm?” Milo answered, being pulled from his thoughts.

 

“How was your day?” She repeated.

 

“It was just the usual amount of Murphy’s Law.” Milo replied nonchalantly. “Oh, I made a new friend!” His expression brightened, the tone in his voice considerably contrasted.

 

“Oh, that’s great sweetie! Come and tell me more about them, hmm?” Brigette said, knowing how difficult it is for her son to make close friendships.

 

“Ok.” Milo replied, sitting at the kitchen table. “Well, his name’s Zack and he just moved into town.” he said playing with the edge of his shorts.

 

“Oh, is that so?” His mom settled in, waiting for him to elaborate.

 

“Yeah, he’s really cool and can even handle Murphy’s Law, as unusual as THAT is. You know that’s a skill that any of my friends need to have.” Milo momentarily laughed, before retreating back into his thoughts.

 

His mother laughed, and it was the kind of laugh only a mother could have. This is the kind of laugh that reflected her relief. Brigette realized her son might be in love. “I’m proud of you, the fact that you found someone else to let into your world.”

 

Milo’s smile began to grow, he then looked back down into his lap silently. Brigette gently pet his hair, smiling just as gently.

 

Before taking a sip from her teacup, Brigette teased, “Sounds like you have a crush to me.”

 

Milo’s eyes widened, and his smile dropped. “N-No, of course not, he’s a boy! Jeez, mom.” Milo’s voice cracked.

 

“Love knows no gender, hun.” His mother replied. “Just something to think about.” She smiled as she took a slow sip and let him mull over what she had said.

 

He breathed, letting his mind slowly expand. Boys…liking boys…was allowed? He slowly brightened back up, and his grin grew wider.These feelings weren’t weird. His mom got up and took her cup to the kitchen sink, a grin spreading across her face. Milo stood up, and ran to his room, shouting apologies and thank you’s behind him as he raced up the stairs.

 

* * *

 

 

Milo plopped down into his bean bag chair and watched Diogee plod into the room with him. He picked him up and placed him into his lap. He pet Diogee and hid a grin in his soft fur.

 

Boys could like other boys…does this mean that he fit that mold because he liked Zack? Did he like Zack…like that? He pondered a bit more about Zack and giggled into Diogee’s fur. Guess he really did then. Maybe he liked both genders, but Zack was just who he wanted. He’d think more about it later, maybe.

 

“Gosh, Diogee, I think I really like him a lot. Like more than a friend. Am I…gay then?” The dog made a small woof and Milo grinned at him. Guess it was unanimous.

 

Milo continued to pet Diogee, giddy from his revelation. He even giggled a couple of times, before thinking a moment longer. If he was gay, or bisexual, or whatever he decided, then…what if Zack wasn’t? What if Zack only liked girls?

 

Milo was thinking so hard he almost missed the ringing of his phone. He absent-mindedly checked who was calling and nearly choked on air, before fixing his hair, adjusting his voice, and hitting the green button. Zack’s voice rang out through the phone.

 

“Hey, today was pretty fun, we should do it again, have a guy’s night, or something.” Zack laughed, and Milo felt his cheeks heat up and his heart flutter. Gosh, that laugh was so…

 

“Milo? We don’t have t-” Zack spoke up after a few minutes of silence, interrupting Milo’s thoughts.

 

“HI, yeah, that sounds awesome! It’ll be my first one ever! We can get a pizza or Chinese, and hopefully, it’ll get here intact.” Milo laughed. “Murphy’s law and all, it kinda stops the fun sometimes.”

 

“No problem, man. I can bring something homemade, or we can make something out of stuff I bring over.”  Zack reassured.

 

“Sure, sounds like fun!” Milo was practically shaking, his first ever guy’s night, and it wouldn’t just be him and Diogee! He could sing!

 

“How about this Friday, dude?” Zack asked.

 

“Friday sounds great, see you then!”  Milo replied excitedly.

 

“I can come over after school, see you then!” Zack stated.

 

Milo hung up, and made an array of sounds that didn’t sound even remotely human, but rather like a sort of noise that resembled a squeaky toy. He couldn’t wait till Friday. He ran back downstairs to ask his mom, sure she’d agree.

 

To Be Continued…


	2. The Undergrounders!

“The train to the museum of natural history should be here any…” Milo mentioned as he, Zack, and Melissa all made their way through the subway station and to the loading area.  
  


“...41 seconds.” Amanda chimed in as she passed by them to get to the turnstiles up ahead.  
  


“41 seconds from now, apparently.” Milo said smiling.  “I’m really looking forward to seeing some paleontology, archeology...all the ologies really.” Milo stated excitedly, as he came to a stop by the turnstiles.  
  


He stopped and stepped aside to let his friends go through first, smiling amusedly at Melissa calling him an ology too and Zack chiding her about how she always forgot things. It was nice knowing his two best friends got along so well. Just as he was going to follow his friends through Bradley cut in front of him, saying something about giving a tour and a Milo show? What was he talking about?  
  


“Bradley, I don’t have a performance planned.” Milo responded confusedly.  
  


As Bradley went on skeptically talking about geysers popping out of the floor, Milo was so distracted that as when he went to step through he ended up stuck as one of his legs got caught in the turnstile.  
  


“Oops, I’m stuck.” Milo said frowning as Bradley mumbled something about geysers again.  
  


Milo still stuck in the turnstile, tried pushing a bit to get out, but it just spun him around a few times before he came to an abrupt halt with a sheepish grin.  
  


Milo noticed there were a bunch of students watching him as he tried to free himself a second time and failed again. He glanced over at Zack and Melissa waiting by the train car with another timid smile. They looked like they were debating something, Zack seemingly a bit concerned for him until Melissa said something to him with a smirk and a shake of her head.  
  


Milo decided to give it his all on this attempt to free himself and managed to get unstuck finally. Unfortunately, he ended up propelling himself onto his hands and forward into the train car, somehow falling upside down on the seat.  
  


“This floor is a lot cleaner than I expected.” Milo stated after a few moments of awkward silence. ‘Well, that was a bit embarrassing.’ he thought as he quickly righted himself and sat on the train seat.

 

* * *

 

  
  
Once they were on their way, Zack and Melissa struck up an idle conversation about Zack never having been on a subway train before and some urban legend about Mole People. Milo chimed in with his two cents a few times cheerfully. Suddenly the train car began to shake under their feet.  
  


“Does it usually do this?” Zack asked clinging to his backpack and glancing around nervously.  
  


“Well, sometimes, when the coupling’s loose.” Milo calmly replied hoping to reassure his friend.  
  


“The coupling’s loose? What does that even mean!?” Zack exclaimed.  
  


“Better put on my seatbelt.” Milo stated looking through his backpack for one as the train car began to shake even harder.  
  


“How's that going to work?” Melissa asked confused.  
  


“Easy.” Milo replied calmly standing up, walking over the pole in the middle of the train car and wrapping the belt around it and his waist.  
  


“You insert the tab into the buckle until you hear it click, like this.” he said demonstrating for her.  
  


Suddenly the car they were in came loose from the rest of the train with a violent jolt, knocking both Zack and Melissa onto the ground roughly.  
  


“Oh, I get it now.” Melissa chuckled glancing up amusedly at Milo who was still standing.  
  


“I woulda had extras but y'know...The Llama Incident.” Milo replied with a diffident grin.  
  


Before Milo could say anything more he felt the train car swerve. The car crashed through a boarded exit, leading to an above-ground construction site and came to halt.  
  


“Well, at least we’re above-ground.” Zack said with a nervous chuckle.  
  


Milo smiled fondly at that comment, about to turn and reply that he was also relieved the craziness was over. All of a sudden, their car suddenly broke through the boards supporting it above the opening to an old subway tunnel and fell back underground.  
  
  
The tracks that the car fell on were old and worn, causing the car to rock and spin nonsensically as it moved forward. Externally, Milo kept perfect balance due to muscle memory and the belt holding him to the pole. Internally he worried how his friends were handling the rough ride. After careening out of control for few minutes, the train car suddenly flew through the air until it abruptly came to a rough landing on a large pile of dirt.  
  
  
“And then to unbuckle it you press down on this button.” Milo stated, somewhat forcing a smile. Melissa suddenly gave out a loud sigh of relief.  
  


Zack, on the other hand, wasn’t comforted by the car stopping. He desperately wanted out of this enclosed space. The panicking teen tried frantically to manually open the door of the car but to no avail.  
  


“Locked? How can these be locked? Does it usually do this?” he cried out, his voice rising out of panic.  
  


Melissa then followed his logic, trying to open the windows, but again with no success. “The windows don’t open either.” She commented.  
  


“What is the point of a window that doesn't open?!” Zack began to yell frantically.  
  


“It provides work for window washers and glass installation professionals.” Milo replied matter-of-factly.  
  


“And the ceiling, is there usually a ceiling?” Zack asked, climbing up onto one of the car's seats and knocking loudly on the metal ceiling.  
 

Milo realized what was happening and could tell by Zack’s erratic breathing that this was his breaking point. As he was about to say something, Melissa spoke up instead.  
  


“Zack, by any chance are you claustro-ph-...” Melissa asked sounding concerned.  
  


“NOT claustrophobic… just claustro-avoidant!” Zack interrupted her quickly. “I avoid enclosed spaces when possible.”  
  


“Probably not possible right now.” Melissa stated bluntly as she looked over the inside of the train car.  
  


“It’s better when I’m distracted.” Zack replied climbing down off the seat he was standing on.  
  


“Ok, wait.” Milo said, smiling at the idea that popped into his head. He set his backpack on the ground gently and then started tap dancing.  
  


“Not helping!” Zack commented quickly.  
  


“How about this?” Milo responded pulling a few rolled up posters, a beret and an accordion from his backpack.  
  


He and Melissa quickly began blocking the windows with posters, which had pictures of French Landmarks on them. Milo put on the beret, then began playing the accordion while dancing along with the song. Zack glanced around at the posters, then stared back at Milo for a few moments before speaking again.  
  


“Ok, now I'm distracted, have you been carrying that the whole time?” Zack asked confusedly.  
  


“I try to pack for any eventuality.” Milo responded, smiling to himself happily. ‘Glad, that seems to have helped.’ he thought to himself.  
  


“Now, let’s see about getting those doors open.” He said digging through his backpack. “Ah! Here we go!” He said pulling a skeleton key out of one of the pockets and holding it up.  
  


“Ok, next time: key first, tap dancing later.” Zack stated; slightly annoyed, but definitely a bit calmer than before.  
  


After a few minutes of working at the lock with his key, Milo finally managed to get the doors open.The three friends exited the car and looked around curiously after Milo illuminated the area with a flashlight.  
  


“This is amazing!” Melissa stated excitedly.  
  


Zack glanced around nervously, before deciding to go stand by Milo who had leaned over to pick up what looked like a bone.  
  


“Look, a fossil!” Milo announced. “Chicken wing...circa...1993.” He stated examining the small bone in his hand carefully.  
  


“See, nothing can live under here not even chickens!” Zack shouted, surprising Milo for a moment.   
  


“Could be worse.” Milo replied calmly, a somewhat amused smile crossing his lips.  
  


“How?” Zack asked, the disbelief clear in his voice.  
  


“Mysterious underground creatures?” Melissa questioned confused.  
  


“I guess that would be worse.” Zack replied not turning to look at Melissa.  
  


“No! Mysterious underground creatures are coming towards us!” Melissa yelled panicking.

 

Milo and Zack quickly turned to look the direction Melissa was pointing and sure enough, there was a large group headed their direction through the darkness of the tunnel.The three friends backed away warily.  
  


“Silver lining, things CAN live down here.” Milo said trying to ease the tension with a lighthearted joke.  
  


“Someone hit the lights!” A voice suddenly rang out from the group in front of them.   
  


A moment later some bright lights flicked on, illuminating the tunnel they were all in and revealing a group of people before them.  
  


“Huh, I’ll be honest I'm a little disappointed.” Melissa commented.  
  


Milo quietly listened as the group introduced themselves as The Undergrounders, noting that one man seemed to a bit more eccentric than the rest. He only spoke up to ask questions once or twice, before the strange group decided to take them to their camp.  
  
  


 

* * *

 

 

  
After walking a while, asking and answering a few questions, they had all reached the Undergrounder’s Camp and were given an impromptu tour before stopping to eat something.  
  


Milo decided to offer some up some granola bars to their small group, after watching Zack almost eat fried rat.  
  


Suddenly Milo heard a familiar sound. He glanced down to see Diogee sniffing at the extra granola bars in his bag.  
  


“Diogee what're you doing here?” Milo asked confused.  
  


“Please be rescuing us.” Zack commented desperately.  
  


A great plan came to Milo after the eccentric guy tried to declare Diogee their leader and after explaining that Diogee always knew the way home and telling him: “Diogee, go home.” the whole group followed the small dog as he ran for the nearest way out.  
  


As they were all running Melissa tripped over a few rocks and fell.Milo turned back to go help her when suddenly the tunnel ceiling collapsed dropping a shower of rocks around them creating a small cave.  
  


Inside the small cave, Milo heard Zack's voice ring out with worry.  
  


“No! Melissa, Milo, Are you guys ok?!” Zack shouted.  
  


“Yeah, we're ok...if you call being buried alive ok.” Melissa replied snarkily.  
  


“I see light past this one rock, maybe If we can move…” Milo commented. “No...no, it won't budge.” He grunted as he tried vainly to move the large rock. “Don't worry I've got my backpack right...” he said turning to grab his backpack when suddenly a rock fell and crushed it.  
  


“What was that?!” Zack shouted from outside the cave.  
  


Milo took a moment to glance around the cave examining it. Murphy's Law was definitely in full effect.  
  


“Hmm, Well, ok, maybe you can worry a little bit.” Milo stated looking slightly annoyed.  
  


Milo sat back and took a couple of silent moments to figure out what to do. They had to get out of this cave soon.  
  


“Ok, here's the plan.” Milo stated finally crawling back to the front of the small cave. “Someone crawl through and jimmy out that rock from the front.” he explained calmly.  
  


“I don't think any of us can fit.” Milo overheard one the undergrounders say.  
  


Milo then heard the sound of dirt and rocks shifting before hearing Zack speaking.  
  


“I can fit...I think.” Zack said.  
  


“But Zack you're claustro-avoidant, are you sure you wanna do this?” Melissa asked concerned.   
  


“No! I'm sure I don't wanna do it...but you guys need me!” Zack replied.  
  


Milo listened nervously to the sound of Zack shuffling through the cave, ignoring the Undergrounders arguing in the background when the shuffling stopped for a moment.  
  


“Is there another flashlight in there?” Zack asked sounding closer than before.  
  


“My back-up, back-up got crushed.” Milo responded apologetically.  
  


“I can barely see.” Zack stated nervously.  
  


“Not much to see, just kinda a tiny, enclosed, suffocating…” Melissa commented glancing around. “Y’know what nevermind.” she said quickly.  
  


“You can do this!” Milo stated. “Think of how you faced down wolves and survived an alien abduction and that's just since we've met, I'm sure you've done lots of stuff before that.” he kept talking encouragingly.  
  


“Nope! Never did anything!” Zack answered sounding more nervous than ever.   
  


The sound of Zack shuffling through the cave resumed until he finally came to a stop by the rock blocking Milo and Melissa in.  
  


“What if this rock is all that's holding this up?” Zack asked sounding worried.  
  


“Don't worry I'm sure it'll all work out.” Milo replied calmly.  
  


“How do you know?” Zack asked.  
  


“Because it has so far.” Milo replied.  
  


“Relatively speaking.” Melissa commented under her breath.  
  


“Ok, on three...1 2 3.” Zack said before trying to shove the large rock with his shoulder.  
  


Soon the large rock blocking Milo and Melissa's escape was out of the way and soon they were climbing out to safety.  
  


“ See, I told you it would hold.” Milo commented.  
  


Immediately after he said that a bunch of rocks fell from the ceiling and crushed the small cave.  
  


“Well it held long enough.” he said.  
  


“You totally saved us!” Melissa said happily.  
  


The undergrounders congratulated Zack, patting him on the back until Melissa noticed Diogee was missing. Suddenly a small bark sounded and one of the tunnel walls crumbled and revealed Diogee standing in the doorway of an abandoned train car.  
  


 

* * *

 

  
  
Soon they were in the train car and headed down the tracks quickly.  
  


“You know we have no idea where these tracks go.” one of the Undergrounders commented  
  


“I'm sure it'll all work out.” Milo replied calmly.  
  


“You're SURE?” The same man asked.  
  


“He uses that term loosely.” Zack commented fondly.  
  


Immediately after he said that the noticed that their car was about to go over a cut off in the tracks. Milo forgetting to take Murphy's Law into account quickly ran to flip the switch to change tracks and accidentally broke the handle.The train car ended up flying through the air and somehow landing upright on a different set of tracks and crashed into a dead end, leading through the museum's wall and to a stop.  
  


As they exited the train car all the undergrounders except the eccentric guy left to go their own ways. Instead, he decided to go back underground but stopped a moment to try and convince Bradley to be his leader.  
  


Bradley declined the offer and instead began rambling on about Stegosaurus ribs, making the guy run off.  
  


“He saw something in me.” Bradley said proudly.  
  


“Whatever he saw he also saw it in a dog.” Melissa commented.  
  


“The floppy eared one shall be the leader.” Zack said imitating the eccentric guy as he played with Diogee’s ears.  
  


Milo smiled down fondly at Zack playing with Diogee, amused by the others playfulness.


	3. Rooting for the Enemy!

“C’mon, I want to be there when it starts!” Milo exclaimed, dragging Melissa toward the school gym.

 

“Whoa! What’s the big rush for Milo?” Melissa asked. “I had no idea you liked pep rallies.”

 

“Well, actually I’ve never really been to any,” Milo said, pausing at the doors, “but I want to support Zack, somehow, especially since I’m not going to the game.”

 

“So that means this is your first one?” Melissa asked placing her hands on her hips.

 

“Yeah, it is.” Milo replied with a small, sheepish grin, pushing the doors open to go inside.

 

The first thing he noticed was people starting to whisper as he came in. He didn’t have to hear their words to know what they were saying--he just needed to see the way they scowled and pointed to know he wasn’t exactly welcome here.

 

“So where do you want to sit?” Melissa asked, turning to look at Milo, who was frowning at the ground. “Uh, Milo?” she continued, nudging him gently when he didn't respond.

 

“Huh, what?” Milo asked,looking at Melissa with surprise.

 

“Where do you want to sit?” Melissa asked again.

 

“Oh, let’s sit over here,” Milo responded, quickly going to sit in the middle of the bleachers with Melissa following behind him.

 

_ ‘Milo must be feeling a bit overwhelmed by the crowd,’ _ Melissa speculated as Milo ran his thumbs over the straps of his backpack, glancing at a small crowd nervously.

 

_ ‘Why can’t people just learn to leave him alone?’ _ she thought, furrowing her brow before pushing herself out of her seat, when a tug at her arm stopped her.

 

“Melissa, look, here comes the team!” Milo exclaimed, excitedly pointing out Zack and the other football players entering the gym and gathering in the center of the room.

 

“Zack, over here!” Melissa shouted, waving happily. “Why don't you wave ‘hi’ too,” she said, gently nudging Milo in the shoulder.

 

“Oh, yeah, alright,” Milo replied, cheerfully waving at Zack.

 

Melissa chuckled when Zack returned their waves and smiled. She saw Milo smile,blushing from ear to ear as he watched Zack talk with the rest of the team. 

 

After a few minutes, their attention was caught by the mascot and cheerleaders' routine.

 

“I never understood why people need a rally to get peppy.” Milo commented with an amused shrug. “Does that make you feel peppier?” he asked, gesturing at the mascot as he accidentally slipped out of his costume.

 

“Yeah, It kinda does,” Melissa replied, smirking as Milo shook his head, amused , and turned to watch Zack talking with the team.

 

She smiled fondly at Milo for a few minutes, before Bradley walked up to them and caught her attention.

 

“Oh, hey Melissa! Mind if I join you?” Bradley asked.

 

“Sure Bradley, have a seat,” Melissa responded, gesturing at the spot next to her.

 

She suppressed a giggle as Bradley freaked out when he realized that Milo was sitting with her. 

 

Noticing the commotion, Milo glanced over and smiled brightly.

 

“Hello, Milo…” Bradley said flatly.

 

“Hi, Bradley,” Milo replied with a cheerful wave. _ ‘That’s weird. I was sure he said he wanted to sit with us.’ _ he thought watching Bradley step away from the area quickly.

 

Milo then noticed the coach walk into the gym and up to the lone microphone stand in the middle of the room before clearing his throat.

 

"Alright listen up Geckos,I'm not gonna lie to you we're gonna lose today and we're gonna lose hard." Coach Mitchell said matter of factly.

 

_ ‘Well, he doesn't seem very optimistic about tonight's game,’ _ Milo thought to himself.

  
  


"Oh yeah, in the meantime let's enjoy some peppy songs from our Jefferson County Middle School Defunded Marching Band." Coach Mitchell announced quickly before walking off. 

 

As the band started up Milo grinned widely.

 

“Now, that makes me feel peppy!” Milo stated, tapping his feet.

 

“No, Milo, don’t tap,” Melissa warned quickly. “Remember what happened last time?” she asked.

 

“No, what happened last time?” Milo responded, looking confused as he continued tapping his foot cheerfully.

 

The bleachers behind them suddenly collapsed with a loud crash.

 

“Oh, now I remember,” Milo said smiling sheepishly.

 

After the rally Milo and Melissa joined Zack outside the gym so they could all walk home together.

 

“You guys are coming right?” Zack asked, turning to Milo and Melissa with a smile. “It is my first game as part of the team.”

 

“Oh my, Gecko! I would love to!” Milo stated excitedly. “I haven't been in years!”

 

“Last time he came there was a llama stampede,” Melissa told Zack with a smirk.

 

“Llama stampede?” Zack asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Y’know they can spit fifteen feet?” Melissa stated, chuckling.

 

“I haven't been to a game since,” Milo continued, putting a hand to his chin. “I do get nice thank you notes from the team though... You know for staying away,” he said, holding up a small stack of colorful notes.

 

Then a gust of wind blew all the notes from Milo's hand and into the street, causing a crash.

 

“Milo and I have had a Not-Football-Friday tradition for years.” Melissa stated.

 

“ ‘Not-Football-Friday’ ?” Zack echoed, looking confused.

 

“Yup, we used to bowl, but now we do things  _ without _ dangerously heavy, round objects... Like play cards,” Melissa explained.

 

“But it’s my first game guys,” Zack muttered, frowning disappointedly.

 

“It sounds fun, but I try to support the team by staying away,” Milo replied trying to keep a smile on his face, and then he heard someone call his name.

 

“Hey, Milo!” Mort shouted, “Coach said you could come to this game, ‘cuz this is the one game you can't ruin, on account of we're gonna lose.”

 

“Really?” Milo asked.

 

“Oh, yeah, they're better than us,” Mort assured. “Plus, I've got a blockage in my 4th chakra,” he continued, pointing at his heart where said chakra was with his thumb.

 

“Can't argue with a blocked chakra, I'm going!” Milo said excitedly.

 

Suddenly, Mort tripped and slid down the hill they were walking along, and fell headfirst into a full dumpster, which rolled into the lake.

 

Milo cringed slightly before shouting an apology, though Mort assured him it was his blocked chakra.

 

Later that night, Melissa stopped by as Milo was searching his room for the football jersey his dad gave him.

 

Melissa chuckled, amused by the way Milo was going on and on excitedly about going to the game and possibly doing the wave, but frowned at the way his voice dropped at mentioning how it'd probably work better with a crowd.

 

“Are you sure you wanna go to this game?” Melissa asked, “Because we could go to the empty pistachio warehouse and explore.” She quickly held up her phone to show him a picture, hoping to further entice him.

 

“It's Zack's first game and they're gonna lose!” Milo insisted. “It's gonna be great!” he said excitedly, cartwheeling out his bedroom door.

 

Melissa jumped a bit when she heard the sound of a car crash and screaming, but smiled fondly when Milo reappeared holding his antique boombox and bragged about his new  _ Sounds of Disaster _ CD before it spontaneously shattered.

 

On their way out of the the house, Milo stopped to glance at his reflection in the mirror and check that his hair and clothes looked alright. Milo adjusted his jersey one last time to make absolutely sure he looked ok before finally deciding to head out the front door with Melissa.

 

“This is gonna be fun, I can't wait to do the wave in public.” Milo commented when he noticed Melissa smirking at him.

 

Before he could question it, though, he noticed Diogee following them with a giant foam finger stuck to his head and giggled a bit as he told Diogee he had to stay home.

 

“Okay… Let’s go.” Milo said, readjusting and brushing a bit of dog fur off his jersey nervously.

 

"Don't worry you look fine," Melissa commented amusedly as they reached the sidewalk.

 

"Wh-What? Why would I worry about about something like that?" Milo half-stuttered.

 

Melissa raised an eyebrow, unimpressed by his bluff.

 

"You really think so?" Milo asked after a minute.

 

“Yeah of course…” Melissa chuckled. “...and I'm sure Zack will think you look nice too,” she added, smirking as Milo turned bright red.

 

“What're you talking about?” Milo asked, stopping in his tracks.

 

“Milo, I know you better than anyone in town,” Melissa said, ruffling Milo's hair gently. “I’m sure I can tell when you've got a crush on someone,” she continued, smiling fondly.

 

“Ok, ok you're right--as usual--I do like Zack... A lot.” Milo replied, looking at his feet and blushing. “But I'm not ready to tell him yet.”

 

“I promise I won't say a word, and I'll be here for you whenever you're ready to tell him, ok?” Melissa stated, holding up her hand and extending her pinky with a smile.

 

“Sounds like a deal,” Milo replied, hooking his own pinky around hers and shaking hands with her with a bright smile.

 

Once they finally reached the game, Milo glanced around the school's football field noticing there seemed to be a lot more fans supporting the Tigers than their own school's team.

 

“Wow, the Tigers’ fans are certainly excited.” He commented watching one particularly hyped fan rip his shirt off.

 

“It's a good thing we're right next to a hospital.” Melissa commented dryly watching the Tigers storm onto the field loudly.

 

“Hey look,here come the Geckos!” Milo said cheerfully pointing out their school's team and mascot struggling to tear through a paper banner.

 

They watched the Gecko Mascot finally break through and run out to the field before tripping and sliding out of his costume again, Milo and Melissa decided it was time to go find a place to sit.

 

On their way Milo waved at few friends, even offering to let a girl named Joni sit with him and Melissa, she declined politely of course, knowing the danger of milo’s curse. 

 

“Hi, Principal Milder.” Melissa said stopping to talk their school principal, a middle aged woman with shoulder length brown hair and olive skin, who’d greeted her back warmly before noticing Milo with a start.

 

“Milo! Good to see ya!” Principal Milder said forcing a laugh.“I was under the impression you promised Coach Mitchell you would never show up at another game.”

 

“No, it's ok, ‘cuz we're gonna lose anyway.” Melissa said.“The coach said so at the pep rally.” she assured the Principal.

 

“Did he?” Principal Milder asked raising an eyebrow confusedly. “I'm gonna have to explain pep to that man.” she commented watching Melissa and Milo wander toward the bleachers with concern.

 

Halfway up the bleachers steps Milo stopped to look at the view.

 

“Oh, look there's the band!” He said pointing out the band to Melissa. “Hi, band!” Milo shouted cheerfully.

 

The band quickly pulled out some riot-shields before shouting “Hi,Milo!”

 

After finding the perfect spot on the bleachers to sit everyone sitting near them scattered and scooted away quickly.

 

“Hey, Melissa you can sit with us if you value your life, we're outside the ‘Splatter Zone.’ ” Bradley offered when he noticed Melissa still sitting next to Milo.  

 

“No thanks, I've got an adequate ‘Buffer Zone’ here.” Melissa replied with a smirk before turning back to Milo who was chiding Diogee for following them to the football game and had just sat down at their feet.

 

“He's not supposed to be at the football game.” He explained to her with an amused smile as Diogee ran off.

 

Suddenly the game started, and one of the commentators announced the kick off.Milo decided to try cheering on the Geckos even though he knew it probably wouldn't work.

 

"French food being sold at a football game?" MIilo questioned after seeing the escargot salesman.

 

“They tried selling German Sausages but they were The Wurst.” Melissa explained with a smirk.

After deciding to buy a bag of Escargot from the guy selling it, Milo noticed Zack in his football uniform running onto the field.

 

“Oh look Zack's going long!”Milo said pointing Zack out to Melissa. 

 

“Zack, Zack he's our man if he can't do it…” he tried cheering for Zack. “LOOK OUT!!” Milo yelled warning Zack of the danger front of him.

 

The goal post had caught on fire and it had almost fell on top of Zack.

 

“That should count for something.” Milo commented with a frown.

 

“We could still win, y’know if the Tigers all suddenly came down with a really bad cold or if they suddenly decided they wanted to be folk musicians instead of athletes or...y’know you can stop me anytime you want.” Melissa commented trying to cheer Milo up and making him laugh a bit.

 

“Yeah! Who would have guessed that the game would be ruined.” Bradley butted in abruptly. 

 

Melissa's eyes widened as Milo stopped eating his snack and turned his attention toward Bradley curiously.

 

“Color me surprised.” Bradley continued his rant. “Hmm?What's the one thing that's different at this game?” he asked sarcastically.

 

“I dunno I'm not usually here.” Milo responded naivety clear in his voice.

 

“Maybe things would've gone better if you'd cheered for the other team.” Melissa quipped an amused smirk gracing her lips.

 

“Yeah.” Milo replied with a few lighthearted giggles. “Go Tigers!” he cheered sarcastically raising the hand holding his snack bag up into the air.

 

Suddenly the wind blew Milo's snack bag out his hand and onto the field causing a chain reaction of events that ended with the Geckos scoring six points.

The whole crowd gasped at the sudden turn of events unfolding.

 

“Great Googly Moogly, It works!” Melissa gasped. “Milo I've got an idea!” she said turning to him with a smile.

 

After they'd stopped to buy some Tigers merchandise at one of the many stands, Melissa dragged Milo behind the bleachers to let him switch out his Geckos jersey for a Tigers T-shirt after putting some orange and black makeup on him.

 

“I'm really excited that we figured out a way to help the Geckos win this game!” Milo said slipping a pair of Tiger Feet shoes on quickly.

 

“Me too.” Melissa replied with a gentle smile. “But, we haven't won yet.” she said adjusting the hat Milo wore.

 

“I know.” Milo said. “I'm just trying to stay optimistic about it, I really hope this works.” he said with a calmer smile.

 

“I'm sure it will.” Melissa responded putting a CD into a small boombox she was holding. “Alright, you ready Milo?”

 

“As ready as I'll ever be.” Milo replied with nervous smile.

 

A few minutes later upbeat music began playing loudly from the fields speakers and Milo strutted onto the bleachers on the Tiger’s side of the field,before starting to sing along confidently. 

 

Meanwhile while running to get in position for catching the ball Zack noticed two things.The tables were starting to turn in the Geckos’ favor and he could hear singing over the music.

 

“Is that Milo?”Zack wondered aloud before glancing over to where he heard the singing come from.

 

Zack just happened to look over right when Milo was being tossed into the air by the Tigers cheerleaders.

 

‘Well, at least he's having fun with this.’ Zack thought smiling fondly at Milo.

 

“ZACK, HEADS UP!” Mort’s voice suddenly shattered Zacks inner thoughts.

 

Before Zack could react,  _ BAM! _ The football had hit him and knocked him onto the ground.He wasn't hurt too badly however, just a bit surprised.

 

Suddenly Zack heard a loud rumbling sound and Coach Mitchell's voice ringing out and grabbing his attention as he stood up and brushed dirt off of his football uniform.

 

Zack took off running as fast as he could,trying to outrun whatever was behind him.

 

“Zack, field goal!” Coach Mitchell shouted “Dropkick! No one's used that play in forty years,bring it back baby!” he yelled excitedly.

 

Zack focused all the attention and strength he had into the dropkick the coach had instructed him to do,but his kick made the ball go a bit too wide.

 

Fortunately for him the goal post had decided to give out and tilt just far enough to the side for him to score the field goal officially earning the winning points for The Geckos.

 

Zack, the rest of the team, their mascot and all of the Gecko’s fans burst into loud shouts of celebration. The whole team ran over to Milo lifting him up, tossing him into the air and cheering his name.

 

As the team began carrying Milo off the field he thought it all looked like it'd ended pretty well.Until the team passed under the tilted goal post and Milo bumped his head on it.

 

“Ow! I forgot about that.” Milo muttered rubbing at the tender spot on his head.

 

Then they all fell in a huge hole that opened up on the field and before the goal post fell on top of them all.

 

“Are you guys ok!” Melissa yelled as she ran over to the hole to check on everyone.

 

“I think I broke my thumb!” Milo shouted through the rubble covering him and the team as he lifted his hand out to show her.

 

\----------------------------------------------

 

Soon he and Melissa were in the hospital at ‘The Murphy Suite.’ chatting about the game.

 

“So Milo, you gotta tell me where you came up with that music and dance routine.” Melissa said leaning towards him with big grin.

 

“Oh that.” Milo said with a timid smile. “It's just silly little hobby of mine.”

 

“Really?” Melissa replied. “Tell me everything.”

 

“Well ok, that song was originally going to be a cheer for The Geckos for tonight.” Milo explained with a blush. “But I changed up the words and decided to use it to help them win.”

 

“Oh! So that's why you brought your extra boombox along.” Melissa responded quickly putting two and two together.

 

“Exactly.” Milo replied smiling brightly. “Well looks like we started a whole new tradition.

 

“Traction Saturday.” Melissa announced amusedly.

 

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation and in walked Zack, the rest of the team and the cheerleaders all greeted Milo happily.

 

The group of cheerleaders did a quick cheer that they apparently wrote in the hallway.

 

“Here you go buddy.” Zack said walking over to Milo's hospital bed. “The game ball, we want you to have it.” he said handing Milo the football he'd been holding.

 

“Oh my gosh, cool!” Milo commented excitedly. “Hey, any of you guys wanna sign my cast?” he asked moving the hand in the cast, accidentally knocking the curtain of the bed next to him onto the floor and revealing Diogee sitting in the bed.

 

“Diogee go home.” Milo said with a giggle. “He's not supposed to be at the hospital he explained to Zack quickly.

 

About an hour later after the Geckos Team and Cheerleaders had left Melissa too was getting ready to head home.

 

“You sure you're ok with staying the night alone Milo?” she asked pausing at the door.

 

“Oh yeah sure.” Milo responded chuckling lightly as he petted Diogee’s soft fur.

 

“Actually guys, he won't be alone.” Zack said speaking up quickly.

 

“What do you mean?” Milo asked looking confused.

 

“Well you do owe me a Guys Night tonight.” Zack replied with a smirk. “I even brought movies, drinks and a few snacks.” he said showing them his backpack of stuff.

 

“Whoa!” Milo commented amazed by all the stuff in Zack's backpack.

 

“I even brought pajamas and my toothbrush from home.” Zack commented smiling. “Why do you think it took so long for me to get here, I had to run home and get my stuff.” he said placing his backpack onto the hospital bed next to Milo's.

 

“Well ok, I do owe you a Guys Night.” Milo commented with a chuckle. “You can use the room's bathroom to get changed if you want.”

 

“Cool sounds perfect.” Zack said heading over to the bathroom and closing the door carefully.

 

“Well, well, Milo you don't have to be alone tonight, lucky you.” Melissa said ruffling his hair with a teasing smirk.

 

“Oh, come on, you know it isn't like that.” Milo said with a blush as he tried fixing up his hair quickly.

 

“I know, I was just teasing you.” Melissa responded pulling her purse up onto her shoulder. “I'll be back tomorrow afternoon to visit you ok.”

 

“Alright see you then.” Milo replied. 

“Bye.” he said with a wave.

 

“Bye.” Zack said walking out of the bathroom.

 

“Bye, Milo.” Melissa responded. “Bye, Zack.” she said waving at both of them before leaving.

 

“Hey, uh, Milo.” Zack said quickly. “The rest of the team and I were wondering if you'd like to be an honorary cheerleader for The Geckos.”

 

“Really?” Milo asked grinning.

 

“Yeah, you'd get to come all the games and help us win by cheering for the away team.” Zack explained with a smile.

 

“Sure I'd love to be a Geckos cheerleader.” Milo replied smiling brightly.

 

“Great, I can even get a jersey made for you that has the number 12.5 for you and everything.” Zack said smiling fondly at Milo's excited smile.


End file.
